Behind The Curtain
by dx-nodoubt-dx
Summary: Despite their growing storyline/friendship, Paul seems blind to Stephanie's feelings. But when Steph brings her lover on the road, does Paul maybe care for her more than she realises? McMahon-Helmsley Era. One-shot for now.
1. Chapter 1

_Authors Note : Okay, so I thought I'd do my take on the whole Steph-Hunter falling in love thing. This is just pure fluff, so enjoy. Also, I know Stephanie and John didn't know each other before he came to the company, and I know she's a year older than him, but for stories sake, they went to Boston Uni together and were best friends. Please tell me if I should add more chapters, I dunno whether this is any good or not for an idea._

"This is gonna hurt me a lot worse than it hurts you." Steph let her hand fly and winced inwardly as she struck her own mother across the face. She turned and walked away, silently apologising to her mother inside her head as she walked slowly up the ramp, evil smirk in place. When she got there, Paul appeared, an equally evil sneer on his own face. They played to the crowd for a few moments, the boos deafening, before they headed backstage. The moment she was behind the curtain, Steph felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Paul pulled her in for a gentle hug, patting her hair gently. "Don't cry Steph, you did great out there."

Steph clung to him, unable to stop herself from getting a small thrill of attraction from his close touch. "I just didn't want to have to do it. She's my mom y'know?"

"I know." Paul pulled her chin so that she was looking up at him. "It's just acting Steph, your mom will be fine."

Stephanie smiled. Paul could always make her feel cheery no matter the situation, she was so happy that she'd entered into this storyline with him. Not only was it great fun, but Paul had become one of her closest friends. She didn't realise she still had her arms around Paul's waist until she heard someone clear their throat from behind her. She sprung away from Paul and grew a tiny bit red in the face as she wiped away any stray tears.

"Hi daddy."

Vince McMahon looked slightly suspicously between the two of them, before focusing on his daughter. "Are you alright Steph? Your mother's looking for you if you want to come talk to her."

Steph smiled and nodded, she turned to Paul and gave him a quick hug. "I'll catch up with you later Paul, you should get warmed up for your match!"

Paul watched her walk off with an affectionate smile on his face. He had never spoken more than five words to Stephanie McMahon before their storyline got kicked into action. But now, four months into their storyline, he couldn't imagine not having her as his friend. They had become really close over the months, and he was amazed at how easily he was able to slip into being the touchy-feely, loving, evil, husband to her equally touchy-feely, loving, evil wife. A few of his friends had questioned him about his feelings for her, but he had brushed them away impatiently and refused to get into those discussions. Stephanie was nothing more than a friend and a co-worker... there was nothing going on between them. He was perfectly happy with Joanie, they were living together and both their careers were beginning to take off. He was happy with everything in his life. Not to mention, he wouldn't be so stupid as to try hook up with Vince McMahon's daughter.... he would rather stay in his spot and stay in Vince's good books.

"So come on, tell me the goss, how long is it gonna take you to get into Levesque's pants?"

"Katie!" Stephanie admonished, growing red in the face at the mere thought of it. She had a few days off before Mania and had decided to spend them at home in Connecticuit catching up with some childhood friends. She had made the mistake of admitting to her three friends that she was missing Paul's company, and they hadn't stopped giving her grief ever since. Despite her friends teasing, it was true. She did miss his company. She spent a lot of time with him when they were on the road, and she always had a segment or two with him at every show every week. She knew they were overtly tactile on screen, but thankfully no-one had called her out on it. She knew she was playing a dangerous game. Paul was in a happy relationship with Joanie. And she just wasn't allowed to date the wrestlers. She didn't want to pine for Paul too much openly in case her father noticed and decided to break them up on-screen.

"Seriously, Steph, you should talk to him about how you feel." Steph's sister-in-law and best friend, Marissa, nodded along with Steph's childhood friend Amy. "It's not healthy to keep feelings bottled up like that. What if he likes you back?"

"It's not allowed Marissa." Steph said glumly, watching her glass of wine swirl around. "You know daddy would never let that happen."

"He can't stop you from falling for someone Steph." Katie said gently, rubbing her friends shoulder companionably. "And hell, he doesn't even need to know at first!"

Steph sighed. They just didn't get it. No-one seemed to get it. "It's just too complicated to explain okay? Yes, I like him a little bit more than a friend... but I'm not going to do anything about it. He has someone else and it would be breaking a whole bunch of rules. Now can we please drop it?" The other three women shared exasperated glances, but let the topic drop, instead going on to talk about shopping and television and all the other girly gossip they had missed out on since Steph had been on the road. After a couple of hours, Amy decided she'd had enough sitting indoors and gossiping.

"Alright ladies, get your heels on, we're going clubbing!"

Steph groaned. "Do we need to? I kinda wanted a night in."

Katie rolled her eyes and dragged Stephanie to her feet. "Don't be one of those people who never gets out to have fun. Let loose Steph! This'll help you get your mind off Paul."

Steph thought for a moment, that actually made sense. Sighing heavily, she nodded. "Fine, lets go get drunk."

"Now you're talking." Amy grinned. She took the three ladies to a club in the east side of Connecticuit, close to Massechuesetts, where Steph's old college was. The four girls got their drinks and settled down at a table, and pretty soon plenty of men were approaching them to dance. Steph let herself be dragged up onto the dancefloor by a few guys, but she wasn't enjoying herself all that much. It wasn't even because thoughts of Paul plagued her mind... she just wasn't really in the mood for clubbing.

"Well well well, look what the cat dragged in." Steph whipped round and grinned, squealing delightedly.

"John!" She threw her arms around her old college buddy, John Cena. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're here!! How are you?? How's your training going?"  
John laughed. "Calm down Steph, look, it's kinda noisy in here. What say we grab a drink and go stand outside for a while?"

Steph nodded and followed him outside, they decided to go for a walk around a nearby park. It had been almost six months since they'd last seen each other, so they needed some time to catch up.

"So to answer your earlier questions, I'm fine, and the training's doing good." John was training to be a pro wrestler, and had been for the past few months. Despite knowing who Stephanie's father was, he didn't want her to do him any favours. He wanted to get himself elevated on his own, and not use his friend like that. "But what about you? I've been watching you on TV. Someone's acting a little slutty." He teased.

Stephanie pouted playfully and wacked him on the arm. "Shut up! I'm really enjoying this storyline... it feels so good to have the fans boo me."

"Boo you?" John echoed, then made a face. "Why would it be good to have them hate you and chant slut at you every night?"

"Because it proves I'm doing my job right." Steph shrugged, clinging to him as they walked through the cool night air. "And Paul's so much fun to work with, I'm having a-"

"Woah woah woah, back up a minute." John said with raised eyebrows. "Paul?"

"Oh," Steph blushed slightly. "Paul Levesque, he's Triple H." Steph saw John raise his eyebrows playfully and she blushed even more. "What? He's a funny guy, we've gotten close recently-"

"Close as friends or something else?" John ducked out of the way of her hand.

"We're friends and nothing more." She sighed, feeling sad all of a sudden. "I've already been through this with them, please don't make me explain the complications to you too."

John could hear the sadness in her voice and he shut up, feeling bad for initiating it. "I'm sorry Steph... are you alright about this storyline?"

Steph sighed and thought for a few moments. John had been her best friend in college. They had actually dated for about two and a half years, and had broke things off just over a year ago. Stephanie had been so in love with him, but at the end of the day they both realised they weren't ready to settle down and their differing career paths would be too hard for them to stay together. Steph sometimes wondered what her life would be like if she was still with John. She'd probably be engaged right now, maybe not an on-screen personality at all. John would probably already be in the WWF, learning the ropes under Vince and the other WWF talent. "I'm fine, I mean, I love this storyline. It's so fun getting to be the bitch and I really feel like I'm contributing something to the product y'know? It's just getting a lot more harder to be around Paul everyday and kiss him and touch him and know that I'm feeling these things for him yet he's not feeling them back for me." John pulled her close as she began to get upset. "I just feel myself falling an falling harder and harder for him and I'm scared, John, I'm so scared. I don't want to fall for a guy who doesn't even like me back!"

John sighed, stroking her hair fondly. "It'll be okay Steph. These things always work themselves out. You just have to be patient and try not to let yourself think about this guy too much."  
"And how am I supposed to do that?" She asked with a roll of her eyes, pulling away from John's embrace. "I'm with him at every single show! It's so hard not to just be all over him all of the time."

John thought for a few moments. "How about I start travelling with you again? That way I can keep you company when you aren't with Paul and I can make sure you don't spend too much time thinking about him."

Stephanie frowned. "You mean, pretend to people that we're dating again?"

John made a face, and Stephanie giggled. "We don't have to do that. We can just let everyone think what they want. But if you really want to know this Paul guys feelings, then maybe we could work together to try make him jealous."

Stephanie suddenly grinned widely. "That actually sounds like a great idea, John. So, are you ready for Wrestlemania this Sunday?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer : Don't own anybody! WWE, Vince, characters have ownage bla bla bla. Oh, and by the way, I totally couldn't get these ideas out my head so I just kept writing. One shot no more. Okay so I just came back from eating and I had two reviews already!! Wow, thank you so much :D. Enjoy._

"Hey Champ, ready to win?" Paul turned at the sound of her voice and grinned, getting to his feet instantly.

"You're back!" He picked her up in a tight hug and twirled her around, causing her to laugh. "I've missed you."

She pretended to pout. "I've missed you too oh dear husband. What did you do without me?"

"Wished you would come back." Paul put on his best puppy-dog face. She laughed and smacked him playfully on the arm. "Seriously though, did you have a good time?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. "I had a great time, I actuall met up with an old friend at a bar, it was great seeing him again."

Paul's eyebrows knitted together. "He? Friend from back home?"

Steph opened her mouth to reply when she suddenly heard someone calling her. Turning, she grinned and flew towards John, running and jumping into his arms. He spun her around happily, before kissing her cheek and setting her back down on the ground, his arm settled on her waist. "Hey babe."

"Hey." Steph said breahtlessly, staring up at him sappily. "Did you get my water?"

"I did indeed." John handed her the bottle and kissed her deeply, letting them both be swept up in the kiss to rub it into Paul as much as possible. When they pulled away, Paul was staring at the floor, a dull flush in his cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Stephanie said with a fake laugh. John smirked slightly. "John baby, this is my friend Paul. Paul, this is John-"

"Cena." John nodded and shook Paul's hand firmly. "Steph and I go way back."  
Paul nodded and smiled tightly. "It's great to meet you." To Stephanie, he smiled softly. "I'm just gonna go talk to the guys about tonight okay? Will I see you before the show starts?"

"I think so." Steph said, gazing dreamily up at her "boyfriend" once again. "I'll catch up with you at some point anyway."

Paul nodded silently and left. The moment he was out of earshot, John whistled.

"If you can't see that he's into you then you must be blind dog." John laughed as Stephanie pulled away from him indignantly.

"Don't start with all your rapper shit on me now." Steph said laughing, punching him playfully in the stomach. "Do you think we made him jealous?"

"He totally stood there and shut up." John leant against the wall, he was laughing so hard. "Could you not see it? He's so used to having you all to himself at these shows, he totally thinks I'm honing in on his territory."

Stephanie laughed loudly, finding the situation quite funny herself. She was glad she'd invited John to travel with her for the next few weeks, he helped keep her mind off liking Paul and not being able to show her true feelings. "Stephanie?"

Steph turned and smiled, accepting a hug from her father. "Hi daddy. Everything set for tonight?"

Vince nodded with a small smile. "We're almost there, yes." He turned to John, a stern look on his face. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight John."

John gulped. Vince McMahon always put the fear of God in him. "Um, well sir, I met Stephanie the other day and she asked if I would like to come. It's a real honour to be here sir, thank you for letting me come."

Vince just nodded, staring between the two. "Is there something going on between you two that I should know about?"

Stephanie laughed, but it was slightly strained, and John noticed. "Of course not daddy, John and I are just friends now, you know that."

Vince didn't look convinced, but he let it go. "Well, remember you have a few segments throughout the show, and we want you in on the plans for the match, so the rest of them are going over things just now if you would like to join them?"

"Okay." Stephanie said happily, grabbing John's hand. John saw Vince raise his eyebrows slightly at this show of affection, but thankfully for the two of them he kept his mouth shut. "I'll come talk to you later dad, bye!" They walked hand in hand along the corridor until they came to the catering hall.

"Now remember and act all lovey dovey," Steph said semi-seriously. "But not too much because Dwayne and Paul and Mick and everyone will be in here and they might think you're some kind of pussy or something."

John chuckled. "I'll try my best to keep my hands off you then." Stephanie sent a mock-glare his way before dragging him into the hall and over to the table that the four participants of tonights main event, as well as Stephanie's elder brother Shane, were discussing the basics of the match.

"Cena!" Shane sprung up from his chair and jogged over, high fiving John before pulling him into a hug. "What the hell are you doing here man?"

"I thought I'd come stick around for the big show." John smirked, pulling Stephanie closer. "And to spend a little more time with your baby sis here."

Shane stared between them both, his mouth dropping in shock. "You mean you two are back together again?"

"Gee, Shane, a little louder, I'm sure the guy outside the arena didn't hear you." Steph replied dryly. Glancing over Shane's shoulder, she saw Paul gazing at them and she smirked. "It's nothing serious, don't worry about it. It's just a little plan John and I have."

Shane stared suspiciously between them. "What are you two upto? Here for five minutes and you're already corrupting my sister again Cena."

John laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, she's the one that corrupted me!"

"I can believe that." Shane laughed, heading back over to the table with Stephanie and John trailing behind. "You're actually just in time Steph, we're trying to think about what you can do during the match."

"I want to get rock-bottomed." Steph said immediately. All five of the men sitting around the tables eyes nearly popped out their heads.

"You want to what?" Paul Wright asked in disbelief.

"Did I just hear correctly?" Mick said with a friendly smile. "You want to be beaten up?"

"Stephanie, I don't know if that's a good idea." Dwayne said hesitantly.

"No way." Paul shook his head. "Absolutely no way. We can't let you do that."

"Hunter's right," Shane nodded. "You can't do that baby girl, what if you get hurt?"

Stephanie scowled. "It can't hurt that much! Dwayne'll be gentle, won't you Dwyane?"

Dwayne shifted uneasily in his seat. "Well, yeah, I will, but that's not the point Stephanie. You don't know how to bump."

"Please?" Stephanie pouted and put on her best doe-eyed expression. "I'm sick of just standing around all of the time. I want to get in on the action."

Shane and Paul still seemed to be wary about letting her take the Rock Bottom. Stephanie sighed and noticed her father walk in the room.

"Daddy?" She called sweetly. "Can you come over here please?" Vince immediately made his way across to their table and seated himself in between Stephanie and Shane. "Everything sorted for tonight then?"

"Dad, Stephanie wants to get Rock Bottomed." Shane said immediately. Stephanie reached across her father to slap him on the arm.

"Shane!" She whined. Turning to her father, who was already shaking his head, she frowned. "Dad, listen, what's the worst that can happen? You're gonna turn on Rock tonight, so have Rock take out the three of you then I try to stand up to him and get beaten up for my troubles. It's perfect! The people hate me, I haven't ever been beaten up before. They'd absolutely love to see me get hurt in the ring!"

"I can't risk you getting genuinely hurt Stephanie." Vince said with a frown. "It's far too risky. What if you land awkwardly and hurt your back?"

"Oh for goodness sake!" Stephanie slammed her hand down on the table angrily. "I'm not a doll! I'm not gonna break at the least little bit of contact. I have tons of heat on me Dad, Dwayne's gonna get screwed out of the title and left standing in the ring with all of you lying around beaten down. Wouldn't it make sense if I was lying on the ground as well? Think for a second, who do they hate almost as much as they hate Triple H?"

Vince sighed wearily. "You."

"And so who would they love to see get beaten up more than you or Shane?"

Vince ran a hand over his tired eyes. "You. But Stephanie-"

"No but's dad." Stephanie shook her head. "As you've said countless times, business is business, and you can't deny that this wouldn't be good for business."

"She's right Vince." Dwayne said slowly. Only two people noticed the death glare Paul sent his way. One of them was John and the other... was Vince. "It really would put the icing on the cake to Rock defeating the McMahon family, even if it's just for one moment. I'll be careful." He added, smiling warmly at Stephanie. "I won't hurt her Vince, I promise."

Vince sighed again and finally nodded. "Fine, but if there's one mark on you Stephanie I'll have to seriously reconsider letting you get involved in anymore matches."

Stephanie squealed excitedly and threw her arms around her father. "Thank you daddy!" She got to her feet and rounded the table to hug Paul. "I'll see you in about an hour for our first segment okay?"

Paul nodded and smiled up at her, throwing an accusatory glance John's way as he did so. "Yeah, you go get yourself all beautified for your husband."

Stephanie pretended to look offended. "Are you saying I'm not already beautiful?"

Paul pretended to look aghast. "Did I say that? I mean, go get yourself all slutified for your husband."

Steph grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "That's more like it." She waved to everyone sitting at the table and grabbed John's hand. "I'll see you all later." She skipped out of the room happily, pulling John along behind her. The moment they were out the room, she turned and threw herself into John's arms. "I'm so excited!! I've never been hit or anything before, it'll be fun."

John rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you're so adamant to get your ass kicked anyway."

Steph scowled. "Don't you give me a lecture too. Now, how about we go get some nachos before the doors open?"

Before they knew it, it was time for the main event. Paul had mostly avoided Stephanie other than to film their two backstage segments together. His story had been that he wanted to spend some time with Joanie, but she was slightly hurt that he didn't even want to have a proper conversation with her, especially seeing as she hadn't spoken to him for almost an entire week. Glancing at John, however, who was standing with her in the Gorilla as they all waited for their cues, she could slightly see why Paul would maybe not want to be around her if all she was doing was spending time clinging to her "lover".

"Ready Steph?" Dwayne asked brightly, he was all oiled up and ready to go. Paul and Shane and Mick and Linda were already out there, Vince and Rock were next, then it would be Stephanie and her Paul. "I promise I'll be careful with you."

Stephanie smiled warmly. "Don't worry about it Dwayne, I bet I won't even feel it." His music hit and he headed out. Stephanie walked over and pecked John on the cheek and he whispered good luck into her ear before she approached Paul. "Ready hubby?"

Paul smiled, and nodded, but didn't say anything. Steph would have felt even more hurt had she not know this was normal for him before a match. He liked to be focused.

They were nearing the finish of the match and everything had went well so far. There had been a tense moment when Mick and the steel steps had nearly hit Linda, and Stephanie had worried for a few moments about her mothers safety. She walked by Linda, asking if she was okay, but making it look like she was hissing insults at her mother, causing the crowd to boo her even more. When it came down to only Rock and Hunter left, Vince grabbed the chair and smacked Rock over the head twice. When Hunter got the pin, he rolled out of the ring, and Rocky began to decimate the McMahon men as the crowd neared rioting and threw everything under the sun at the ring.

"Here I go." Stephanie muttered as she climbed in the ring. She looked over her father and argued with the Rock from her position. Acting like a spoilt little brat, she got to her feet and began getting in Dwayne's face, prodding and pouting and whining until she decided to slap him right across the face. Dwayne stared at her, eyes bulging comically, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Before she knew it, Dwayne had picked her up and brought her crashing back down to the mat again. She felt slightly dazed, she hadn't expected that type of impact, but she kept her eyes shut and waited for the People's Elbow. Afterwards, she could feel people still throwing in drinks and other items into the ring, and she hoped someone would come get her soon, before she ended up drenched in alcohol ... or worse.

Just as she was about to roll herself out of the ring, she felt something hard connect with her cheekbone. She held a hand to her face and when she took it away, she saw her own blood staring back at her. She began to panic slightly, and she saw Paul crawling towards her as she slid out the ring and rested on her knees.

"Jesus Steph what happened?" Paul asked worriedly, pressing his hand against the small but deep gash across her cheek.

"I don't know, something hit me." She mumbled back, biting her lip to try stop the tears from flowing. It didn't hurt all that much, but she didn't like the feeling of the blood sliding down her face. "Get me out of here Paul."

Paul grabbed her around the waist and lifted her upright before leading her backstage, shielding her from the crowd protectively. Vince and Shane still hadn't come back from ringside, but Linda and John were both waiting backstage, anxious looks on their faces.

"Oh honey are you alright?" Linda asked, cradling her daughters face in her hands.

"I'm okay mom." Steph said quietly. "It's just a cut."

"Let me see." John demanded, but Paul put his arm out to stop him.

"I'm taking her to the trainer man, let her through."

"Dude-"

"I'm taking her to get cleaned up!" Paul snapped, holding Stephanie protectively in his arms. John was about to let them go, maybe they would be able to have a nice little talk together. But then out of the corner of his eye he spotted Joanie, and she was sending a horrifically deathly glare Stephanie's way. He didn't want Stephanie getting in trouble with _her_. God knows what might happen to Stephanie. They would just have to wait another day before they professed their love for each other.

"Dude, she's _my_ girlfriend." John said, pretending to be angry. "You got plans on her or something?"

Paul faltered, beginning to back down. "Well, no. Of course not, I mean, I just, she was out there with me and uh... she's my friend and whatever." Paul trailed off and took his arm off of Stephanie, letting John support her instead. "I'm so sorry Steph, I'll see you later yeah?"

Stephanie nodded mutely, not feeling up for talking much. "Bye Paul, congratulations."

Paul watched as John led Stephanie away. He felt terrible. He knew something bad would happen to her if she was in the ring, he just had that feeling. He couldn't get the picture out of his mind, her slightly shocked and hurt look. The look that showed she clearly wasn't expecting the people's hatred to be that extreme. He would kill whoever it was that threw something at Stephanie's face. He watched her go, feeling a slight stirring in his stomach. What the hell was that feeling? He knew he was attracted to Stephanie. It would have been hard not to be attracted to her, but was his feelings worth risking everything? He caught Joanie staring at him from the other side of the room and put a smile on his face, going over to peck her on the lips.

"Well done." Joanie nodded, rubbing his chest slightly. "You did great out there."

Paul couldn't help but frown, Joanie always praised him after his matches, but not the way Stephanie did. Stephanie was always squealing and jumping around and clapping her hands and telling him how proud she was of him. She was always so bubbly and affectionate about everything. He guessed Joanie just wasn't that type of woman. "Yeah, it was a great match." He glanced over to the McMahon's, who had now all came back from ringside. He caught Vince's expression and gulped, Vince did not look happy as Linda informed him that his daughter had been hurt. "I need to go check on Stephanie."

"No." Joanie said quickly, catching him by surprise. He turned back to her with a frown. "She's probably sore, she'll want to just be with her family. You need a shower and time to go celebrate, she'll be there in the morning."

Paul didn't like it, but he knew Joanie would get mad if he went to see her when she had just said he couldn't. Sighing, he followed Joanie back to his locker-room, suddenly not in the mood to celebrate his victory.

He just hoped Stephanie forgave him for not checking up on her.


	3. Chapter 3

"So are you ready for tonight Miss Daredevil?"

Stephanie smirked over at John from her seat in a nearby cafe. Tonight was Backlash, and Stephanie was only set to fall to the ground once, after her mother pushed her down. She'd learned her lesson since last time and wasn't gonna get in the ring for this PPV. "I'm not gonna get hurt Johnny, I promise you that."  
"Well good, you nearly gave us all a heart attack, including loverboy." John joked, Steph glared back in response.

"He's hardly my lover." Steph scoffed. "If he'd cared for me at all he would have come see me after I got hurt."

John frowned as Stephanie grew silent. She hadn't mentioned it that often, but John knew she'd been rather crushed when Paul hadn't shown up at all during Wrestlemania night to see how she was doing. She knew Paul would be celebrating with Joanie and Sean and his other close friends, and she didn't want to intrude where she so obviously didn't belong. So after the show she had just went back to the hotel with John and they had watched a few movies together. Paul had been concerned the next day, but Steph had just acted like nothing was wrong. What Paul didn't seem to realise was that Steph was slowly starting to fall for him more and more as each day passed, but could no longer get away with spending so much time with him anymore. It seemed like Vince and Joanie were intent on keeping them as far apart from each other as they possibly could. John had been trying to pass subtle hints to Vince about the idea of Paul and Stephanie getting together, to try gouge his reaction. But it seemed hopeless. Steph just wasn't allowed to date the wrestlers. No matter how much she wanted to.

"We better get back." Her voice cut into his thoughts and he turned to see her glancing at her watch. "Dad'll be angry if I arrive after the doors open."

As they walked through the already bustling corridors, John made sure to slip his hand into Stephanie's and pull her closer to his body. Who knew when Paul might saunter out of nowhere and see them acting all cuddly and loved up. John knew Paul liked Stephanie. It was painfully obvious. He just wondered if Paul was aware of the risks involved in liking Stephanie and was backing off because of that.

"Stephanie!" They turned to see Stephanie's mother Linda approaching her, a warm smile on her face.

Stephanie's face lit up. "Hey mom!" She hugged her mother and turned to John. "You remember John right?"

Linda smiled and hugged John, who kissed her on the cheek. "It's good to see you again Mrs McMahon."

"John, how many times have I told you to call me Linda?" Linda smiled before turning back to her daughter. "The meetings in ten minutes about the main event tonight, I was wondering if you'd like to walk me there?" Linda threw a pointed glance at John as Stephanie glanced at him for permission. John got the hint. Linda wanted to talk to her daughter. Alone.

"You go ahead." John kissed her on the cheek, and nodded towards Linda. "I'll be in your office if you need me."

Stephanie smiled and let her mother lead her away. As soon as they were out of earshot, Linda cleared her throat. "So how are you dear?"

Stephanie just shrugged. "I'm great mom, why do you ask?"

"Can I not just have a normal conversation with my daughter?" Linda asked with raised eyebrows. Stephanie looked sheepish and Linda put an arm through her daughters. "How is Paul with losing the belt tonight?"

Stephanie shrugged again, feeling slightly flustered at the mention of Paul's name. "I. Uh. Well, we haven't really discussed... he's fine." Stephanie blushed, knowing she was rambling. "He just wants to have a good match like always." Stephanie noticed Linda staring at her, a weird expression on her face. "Why are you looking at me like that mom?" She touched her cheek gently. "Is it the scar? Can you see it?"

"Stephanie, talk to me." Linda said softly, pulling her daughter further along the corridor until they came to the board room, which was thankfully empty. "I can tell something's bothering you... and I'd like you to tell me what it is."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I'm fine mom, I just feel kinda sicky tonight. It's no big deal."

"Steph, I know it's more than that." Linda said gently, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You haven't been yourself the past couple of weeks... is everything okay with you and Paul?"

Stephanie's head shot up instantly. "Of course it is, why wouldn't it be? We are friends after all mom."

Linda took note of her daughters sudden defensiveness, but said nothing on it. "Well, I've just noticed you haven't been spending as much time together as you used to..."

Stephanie sighed. "That's because we've both been busy mom... and well, I have John and he has Joanie so we can hardly spend every minute of every day together can we?" Linda noted how she bowed her head when she said that last part, and she felt a small twinge of sympathy for her daughter as she started to slowly fit the pieces together.

"Stephanie," Stephanie still stared down at her hands. "Stephanie, look at me." Steph lifted her head, and Linda could instantly see the sadness reflected in her eyes. "Do you like Paul sweetie?"

Stephanie hesitated for a few moments. She knew she could trust Linda, but was she willing to have yet _another_ person know that she had stupidly fallen for someone she was forbidden to date? Just as she was about to answer, the door crashed open and Vince walked in, Dwayne, Shane, Steve and Paul all following behind.

"Hello Princess." Steve smirked as he sat across from Steph at the table. "Long time no see."

Stephanie smiled back. "Hey Steve, hows the neck doing?"

Steve shrugged. "Can't complain. Got another few months of work left though." Stephanie nodded as Paul sat down on her other side. Linda got to her feet and went to stand by Vince, leaving the seat on her left empty for Shane to sit down.

"Hey good looking." Paul said quietly, nudging her leg with his. "Where've you been? I've been lookin all over for you."

Stephanie smiled up at him. "I was just hanging out with John." Vince cleared his throat and she turned her attention to the front of the room, causing her to miss the scowl that passed over Paul's face at the mention of John's name. Shane saw it however, and he found it a very interesting development. He'd keep it in mind for later when his wife called asking for updates on the Paul-and-Steph-dating-saga.

The meeting was almost over and Stephanie was practically dying of boredom. Paul seemed to be listening intently to her father, but she knew from what he'd told her a couple of months ago that he'd mastered the interested look a long time ago thanks to Shawn Michaels. She could almost see the glassy look in his eye as he stared forward. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned to her and winked before smiling that gorgeous smile of his that always made her go weak at the knees. She smiled back slightly and felt Shane nudge her in the ribs playfully. She shot him a fake glare before turning her attention back to her father, who had just concluded the meeting after Steve was briefed on what he was being asked to do tonight.

"Steph, honey, your mother says you aren't feeling good, will you be alright to go out there tonight?" Steph instantly felt Paul's intense gaze on her, and she tried to downplay it quickly in case he came over and tried to see if she was okay.

"I'm fine dad." She said with a roll of her eyes. "I just feel a little queasy but I'm sure it'll pass."

Vince didn't look convinced, and Steph knew she would be pestered all night if she didn't get away from them now. "The shows starting soon, I better go get ready." She hurried away and was halfway down the corridor when she heard someone calling after her. She closed her eyes briefly, she knew that voice all too well. Paul caught up to her, panting slightly, and touched her gently on the arm.

"You alright?" He asked, gazing at her in concern. "I heard your dad say you weren't feeling well."

"I'm fine!" Steph burst out in frustration. Tonight was one of those nights that she really wanted to be alone... as if that would ever happen. "I don't feel great. Big deal. I wish people would just stop giving me the third degree about everything and let me make my own Goddamn decisions about my own Goddamn life!" Paul watched as she flounced away, feeling confused and a little hurt. He thought about walking away in the opposite direction, but then changed his mind. Stephanie was clearly upset about something, so he'd just go see what it was and if there was anything he could do about it. He made his way to her office and paused, wondering if he should knock or not. Deciding to screw being polite, he threw open the door and was relieved to see that she was sitting in the room alone, her head in her hands.

"Go away." She said quietly.

"Not when you're clearly upset about something." Paul replied, turning and locking the door behind him before he walked over and sat next to her. "I don't like seeing you upset."

"I'm not upset." She said, lifting her head up to look at him. "I'm just tired of people constantly trying to ruin everything I want in my life."

He frowned in confusion. "I don't get what you're saying."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "It doesn't matter. Really." She smiled at him warmly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I shouldn't have done that."

Paul shrugged. "It's nothing... but you know you can talk to me right? About anything that's bothering you."

Stephanie looked away, knowing that this was one thing she couldn't talk to him about, not ever. "Really, Paul, it doesn't matter." Paul grabbed her chin and tilted her face to look at him.

"If it's making you upset, then it matters to me." Stephanie felt tears welling up in her eyes at his sincerity. Oh how she wanted this man. Paul noted the tears in her eyes and his frown deepened.

"Hey now, why the tears?" He was growing increasingly concerned for her. Whatever it was that was bothering her clearly mattered if it was making her this upset. "Don't cry Steph, I hate seeing you upset."

Steph sniffled a little bit and tried to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you with all this."

"Steph," Paul grabbed her hands and shuffled closer to her, pulling her in for a hug. "Don't be sorry. I don't like seeing you upset and I like to think you can trust me with your problems... I care about you Steph, I care about you a lot." Paul realised what he had just said and inwardly winced, but there was no taking his words back now.

Stephanie smiled against his chest. "I care about you too Paul." She pulled away and stared down at her hands, knowing if she looked into his brown eyes she'd end up kissing him. "I think I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that's been happening recently. And to top that off I feel like shit so really today's just a bad day in general."

"Well, maybe I could make your day better?" Paul asked brightly, not letting go of her hands. "Although I am losing the strap tonight, so that makes this day even worse."

Stephanie chuckled, trust him to make her feel better.

"That's what I like to see, that beautiful smile on your face." Stephanie smiled up at him, and Paul was suddenly overwhelmed with how beautiful she was. Her hair wasn't yet curly and frizzy, instead it was its usual straight style, not in a proper parting due to her running her fingers through it all night. She was dressed in a casual jeans and sweater, and she hadn't yet put on much make-up. She looked so innocent, yet so sexy and gorgeous all at the one time. He didn't know how he'd been able to resist her for this long. But in that one moment, he found he didn't care about anything else as he leaned in and kissed her.

Stephanie was rightly shocked when she felt his lips descend onto hers. At first she thought about pulling away, telling him not to be so stupid. But then she felt his hand go from her knee to her face, and she melted into his kiss, savouring every single second of it that she could. She pushed everything out of her mind. Her father, John, Joanie, the business, she put it all out of her mind and instead just concentrated on Paul's lips on hers. Concentrated on how right it felt to be kissing him. She felt his tongue probing her lips, and she obliged and let his tongue duel it out with hers as they settled fully into the kiss.

Paul felt himself losing control. She was such a great kisser. Her lips felt heavenly against his. He moved his hand up her side, teasing her breast gently against the fabric of her sweatshirt. He began to gently press her down onto the sofa, until he was leaning over her and she was running her hands through his hair and he was cupping her behind and they were getting lost in the moment and slowly letting all of their frustrations go on each other. It was heaven. It was bliss. It was all Paul ever wanted. He'd do anything to be able to kiss Stephanie like this whenever he wanted. He was so happy that he was finally getting to kiss her away from the cameras.

And then it was ruined.

There was a sharp knock at the door and Stephanie instantly shot up, banging her head against Paul's in the process. They both winced and Paul immediately checked her head for any damage. She smirked at him sheepishly and he smirked cheekily back. But when the knock came at the door again, Stephanie adjusted her clothes and got to her feet, a slightly guilty look on her face.

"Steph? Are you in there?" Came John's voice. "Steph, open up, I got you some coffee."

Steph glanced at Paul, who was frowning slightly. "Paul, I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have done that... it... it was a mistake."

"Was it?" Stephanie stared at him in surprise, but was knocked out of her daydream as the knocking grew more insistant. "Come on Steph let me in! What are you even doing in there?"

"Steph, don't answer it." Stephanie had never heard such desperation in his voice before. "Please, we need to talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Stephanie asked with a shrug. "You have Joanie, I have John. You were trying to make me feel better, which you did, so thank you. But you should probably go now."

Paul sighed and made his way to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open. Cena stared at him in surprise, before a knowing look crossed his face.

"Having fun with my girlfriend were ya?" John asked with a smirk.

Paul just threw him an evil look and pushed past him. "Whatever asshole."

John watched him go, an amused expression on his face. He turned back to Stephanie, who looked quite flushed and seemed pretty guilty about something.

"So what's been going on here then Princess?" John asked with a grin.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and dragged him further into the room. "Paul's right, you are an asshole."


	4. Chapter 4

"You told him what?"

Steph rolled her eyes. "You heard me, I told him it was a mistake and that it shouldn't happen again."

John just gaped at her, not believing his ears. "But the entire plan was to make him realise he liked you... he kissed you and clearly wanted something to happen and you blow him off by telling him it was a _mistake_. That it shouldn't happen _again_." He frowned at her. "Are you sure you're feeling alright Stephy?"  
Stephanie frowned. "You just don't get it John. I like him, alright, I do. But... I'm just so scared."

"Scared of what?" John asked gently.

Stephanie stared up at him fearfully. "Scared of what my father will do if he finds out. He'll go nuts John. Even if he loves Paul.. it's still... I'm still his daughter and no matter who it would be it's gonna look bad y'know? What if he tells Paul he'll bury him if he sees me?" Stephanie held her head in her hands. "I don't want to jeoparadise Paul's career John.. because I know if it came down to his career or me he'd choose his career, and that would break my heart."

John sighed in frustration, running a hand over his short hair. "Steph, I understand that alright? But just think for a second... if you two start seeing each other and God forbid you guys fall in love, do you really think he's gonna pick his career over you?" Stephanie made a face. "I'm serious! You don't realise how crazy he is about you. I see him looking at you and it's the same way you look at him and God," John ran a hand over his tired eyes. "You're both just being stupid. I can understand his reason for not dating you but for you guys to have kissed already and you're not even taking advantage of it-"

"Stop it! John, just stop it." Stephanie got to her feet hurriedly, grabbing all the folders and files in her arms before rushing towards the door. "This conversation is done and I'm already late for a meeting with my father, so goodbye." She slammed the door on her way out, causing John to sigh. He knew he'd upset her, but hopefully by the time her meeting was over and she'd settled in at the arena, he'd be able to talk some sense into her. Living the life of a billion dollar princess was never fun.

Stephanie rushed through the seemingly empty hallways, trying her hardest not to drop the dozen ring binders in her arms. She was almost at the door to the board room when she felt her foot connect with something solid and before she could even realise what was happened, her files went flying out of her hands to land on the floor and her entire being went crashing down with them. She felt her chin smack none too kindly off the floor and she bit her lip to stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She lay there for a moment, letting her body absorb the impact, before she sat up and glanced at the offending footrest that had tripped her up. The sheer humiliation of her fall combined with her and Paul's kiss the previous week and John's angry reaction had left her a confused and frustrated mess, and before she knew what was happening she was sitting in the middle of an empty corridor bawling her eyes out.

This was the sight Paul came upon as he rushed to the meeting he was already late for. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Stephanie there. He hadn't been able to get her off his mind the whole week. Joanie had noticed he'd been acting weird and when she'd called him out on it, he'd gotten snappy with her and they'd ended up in an argument. He couldn't forget that kiss... how good she felt in his arms. He suddenly noticed she was crying and putting two and two together he realised she must have fallen and hurt herself. He walked forward silently and didn't say a word until he was crouching down beside her and touching her face gently.

"You okay beautiful?" She jerked away at his touch before relaxing when she realised it was him.

"I'm fine." She wiped at her tears and let out a shaky laugh. "It's silly. I tripped and fell and now I'm sitting here crying my eyes out feeling sorry for myself."

"Are you hurt?" His brown eyes gazed at her in concern, and she found her attraction for him growing by the second.

"No," She whispered, her insides squirming as he placed a hand on her cheek and touched it gently. "I'm okay, I'm just having a bad day."

"Another one of those." He smiled slightly. "I think I know how to make you feel better." He saw how her eyes widened and cursed inwardly as she pulled away from his touch.

"Paul, we really shouldn't go down that road." She started gathering up the papers, tears still fresh on her cheeks. He helped her pick up all her things but kept them out of her reach when she asked for them, causing her to frown. "Paul, we're already late as it is, my father might come out here looking for us soon, don't you think he'll find this a bit odd?"

"I don't care." She opened her mouth in shock. "Steph, look, I know this is complicated and it's kinda out of the blue but I really think we need to talk about this."

Stephanie bit her lip, unable to deny those puppy dog eyes pouting at her. "Look, can we just get tonights show over with please? It's been a stressful few days and I really just wanna wait till I'm back at my hotel relaxing before I get into all this."

Paul frowned, knowing that if he waited till they were back at the hotel, too many people would be prowling around - namely John and Joanie - and they wouldn't get the private time they needed. Knowing it was better than nothing however, he turned his frown into a smile. "Thank you. All I ask is that we talk things over."

She smiled at him and held out her one free hand. "Now can we at least get to this meeting."

Paul shook his head and instead took all her items from her hands. "Allow me." He nodded towards the door and Stephanie wiped at her cheeks again to make sure there were no lasting tear drops. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and walked smartly into the room, Paul at her heels. "Sorry I'm late Vince, I dropped my things and Paul helped me pick them all up."

Vince shot them a slightly annoyed look. "That's okay Stephanie, why don't both of you have a seat." He took a second glance at his daughter when he noticed how puffy and red her eyes were. He frowned. He'd known his daughter for 23 long years now and he knew fine well when she had been crying. He made a mental note to ask her about that later. "We were just discussing latest ratings and different rumblings going down in WCW."

Stephanie gazed around the room trying to find a place to sit seeing as her normal spot beside her father was currently being occupied by Mark Calloway, who shot her an amused yet apologetic smirk. She knew there was only two seats left in the room and both of these were next to Joanie Laurer, who was staring pointedly at her boyfriend. Not wanting to put herself in _that_ situation, she suddenly caught sight of Tori who was sitting on a crate at the other end of the room with Sean and Jesse. Deciding she didn't care whether or not it was business-like, she crossed the room and threw her stuff down before hopping up and pulling out her notepad after giving Tori a quick hug.

Vince stared at her in disdain before resuming his meeting. Paul had already taken a seat next to Joanie but he wasn't listening, instead he was just staring at Stephanie, who was pretending to be interested and taking notes but in all actuality she was just thinking about an excuse she could give Paul later that night to get out of talking to him. Maybe she could convince John to take her out clubbing or something. God knows she needed a break.

"What do you think of that Paul?" Paul glanced at Vince in surprised, not believing that on the one day he wasn't paying attention, Vince decided to ask him about his topic of discussion. Paul sat there blankly, trying to think up an answer that wouldn't give away the fact he hadn't really been paying attention. He glanced to Joanie, who just gave him a look of disdain. Thankfully, he was saved from answering by the arrival of Shawn Michaels, who suddenly burst in the door, a goofy grin on his face, and waved to everyone in the room.

"What's happening guys?" He caught sight of Vince and winked. "Sup boss, how ya been?"

Vince just stared at Shawn in shock, not believing what he was seeing. Paul sprung up instantly and went to his friends side. "Come on Shawn, let's get you some water or somethin."

"Hunter!" Shawn happily let Paul lead him out of the room. He glanced back and shot Vince a look of apology before catching Stephanie's eye. Not caring who saw, he winked at her. "How you been man?"

Paul dragged Shawn through the arena till they came to the parking lot. He sat Shawn down on the curb and went to his rental and pulled out a bottle of water he knew he had stashed away in there somewhere. He came back and gave Shawn the bottle before crouching down till he was eye-level with his old friend. "Shawn, what have you taken?"

Shawn just stared at him for a few moments before chuckling. "What are you talking about man? Vince told me to come down so I could have a segment with you and Stephanie, you have to tell me what's going on with you two by the way." He wriggled his eyebrows at Paul suggestively. "So here I am, what's the big deal?" Paul could tell just by his friends eyes that he had taken something and was still on a high because of it.

"Shawn, let's get you back to my locker-room okay?" Shawn rolled his eyes but stood up with Paul anyway. As he stood up, his left leg buckled underneath him and he fell, taking Paul down with him. Paul grit his teeth in annoyance as Shawn roared with laughter next to him. Eventually Paul was able to get him up onto his feet as he half-walked, half-dragged him back to the McMahon-Helmsley locker room. He deposited Shawn on the couch and then just a split second later Stephanie burst into the room, out of breath from running so fast.

"Have to, get him out of here." She panted, bending over slightly to try curb her breathing. "Dad, pissed. Don't want him, seeing Shawn, like, this." She took a deep breath and fanned her face. Running in heels and a short leather skirt was not the best decision on her part.

"Shit." Paul glanced back at Shawn, who had taken a keen interest in Stephanie's legs, and then back to Stephanie. "I can't let him drive back on his own, he might kill himself." He glanced at his watch and sighed. "And I'm due on air within the hour, I'll never get to the hotel and back in time."

"Paul, just take him outside for a while." Stephanie pleaded. "He'll be in so much trouble if my father finds out he's taken something, he made a total fool out of himself back there."

"I know." Paul ran a hand through his hair. "Shit." He noticed that Shawn had kinda zoned out, still staring at Stephanie. "I'll go talk to Vince, just watch him okay? I'll be right back." Stephanie had opened her mouth to protest but he had already walked out the door. She turned back to Shawn and gave him a nervous smile, which he returned rather quickly.

"So, Stephanie," He drawled out the last syllable in her name. She didn't find it attractive. "How have you enjoyed working with Hunter?"

Paul caught sight of Vince talking with Jim Ross a little way up ahead. He sped up his walk and tapped Vince on the shoulder, hoping to get Vince away quickly before he left Shawn and Stephanie alone for too long. He knew Shawn could get kinda frisky when he was on a trip. "Vince, can uh, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Vince nodded as JR walked away. "What can I do for you Paul?"

"Well, I actually have something to talk to you about, something pretty serious." Paul said, thinking the right words to say to try get Shawn out of deep shit.

"Is this about the Stephanie thing?" Paul just stared at Vince in confusion. "Are you finally going to talk to me about this?"

"What Stephanie thing?" Paul frowned, wondering if she had maybe said something to her father. "What are you talking about?"

Vince stared at him suspiciously, but Paul didn't have time to be wondering. "Look, it's about Shawn, he's out his face. Absolutely wrecked, I need to know if there's anyway you can get him to the hotel without him hurting himself."

Vince sighed. "I suppose I'll have to won't I." He gazed at Paul curiously. "Tell me the truth Paul, should I let him work tonight, or should I send him home?"

Paul shook his head straight away. "Send him home sir, he's in no condition to be out there tonight. His wife's probably at home worried sick about him."

Vince sighed heavily. "I'll have a limo pick him up in ten minutes, make sure no-one sees him as you take him outside... this is the last thing we need getting out." Paul went to walk away when Vince called him back.

"I would like to know later why my daughter was crying earlier." Paul just stared at him, not knowing how to respond. "I'll be in my office later if you wish to have a chat."

Paul was worried about what Vince could possibly wish to talk about, but he couldn't dwell on that right now. He realised too late that leaving Shawn with Stephanie was probably a bad idea the moment he walked through the door and saw the deep flush on Stephanie's cheeks and the hostile way in which she stood near the door - as far away from Shawn as possible - with her arms folded across her chest.

"There you are." Paul could hear the relief in her voice and felt bad for abandoning her. "I think it's time he went home."

"Tell your wifey to lighten up a bit Hunter." Shawn said with a roll of his eyes as he got to her feet. "You'd think McMahon's would have a bit more sense of humour, but they're all the same."

"Shawn," Paul said warningly. "Shut up and let's go."

"Tell me Hunter, is she a good fuck?" Shawn glanced at her up and down. "She seems like it, although Greenwich bitches are probably too high up for the likes of us huh? Is that why you feel the need to hide the fact you guys are together?"

Paul couldn't help the surge of rage that coursed through his veins. "Shut the fuck up and get out Shawn." He said through gritted teeth.

"I mean, I don't blame you, I'd bang the bosses daughter if I had the chance-" Paul couldn't control his fists as he decked Shawn with one punch.

"You shut up!" Paul roared, rearing back to hit him a second time. "You shut your goddamn mouth Michaels!"

Shawn stared up at him in shock. "Dude, what the fuck? I was only messing with ya."

"Apologise to Stephanie." Paul spat. "Now."

Shawn shot Stephanie a dirty look. Him and Paul had never had a fight like this. Especially over a woman. "No."

Paul's fists clenched in anger. "Say it or I'll-"

"You'll what Levesque?" Shawn's eyes flashed dangerously. "Deck me again? I dare you to even try cuz I'm ready this time."

Paul opened his mouth to retaliate when Stephanie stepped in between them. "That's enough, both of you. Shawn, I think you should go." Shawn shot her a look of loathing.

"I don't do anything you tell me to do princess." Shawn spat, glaring at her with pure venom. "So back the fuck off and stay out of this."

"That's it." Paul grabbed Shawn by the neck and threw him out the door. "You come back here when you've learned some manners." Shawn got to his feet hastily and glared at Paul evily.

"I dunno what the hell she's done to you man, but get rid of her, she'll be nothing but trouble anyways." He sneered at her as Vince and other WWF personell came round the corner. "McMahon's always are."

"Get him out of here." Vince ordered security, who instantly pounced on Shawn and escorted him out the building. Vince turned to glance at Paul, who was looking livid, and Stephanie, who was looking upset but mostly concerned as she took Paul's hand in her own. The two were unaware of anyone else as Stephanie enquired after his well being and Paul did the same for her.

"He didn't try anything with you did he?" Paul asked, gazing into her baby blues with deep concern.

Stephanie smiled slightly and shook her head. "No. I think he's just pissed off that you didn't find him funny when he came in all wasted."

Paul was gonna ask if they could maybe talk now but he noticed Vince approaching them out the corner of his eye. "You two okay?"

Stephanie turned to her father and nodded. "We're fine daddy, Shawn and Paul just had a little argument." Vince stared over at Paul in surprise. "I'm sure they'll sort it later tonight."

Paul wasn't so sure. He hadn't exactly liked the anger he felt hearing Shawn insult Stephanie, but he knew it would be hard to forgive his friend after the things he'd said. "Yeah Vince, I'm sorry to cause a scene but he wouldn't leave."

"That's alright." Vince was a busy man, and he had things to do, but he would get to the bottom of this by the end of the night. "We'll discuss this later Paul, after the show. But right now, Stephanie, can I speak to you for a minute? It's rather important." Stephanie shot Paul a confused look as she let her father lead her down the hallway. Paul watched her go with a heavy heart hoping that Vince didn't do something drastic.

_The last thing I need is him cancelling our storyline._ He thought with a bitter sigh. _Then I'll never have an excuse to get close to her_.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the long waits between chapters, I'll try update this more often, cuz I love writing it. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you'll enjoy this one :P._

"Sit down for a moment Stephanie, we need to talk."

Stephanie flopped down onto the chair across from her fathers desk, exhausted already and she'd barely been in the arena for an hour. "What's up dad? Is this about the Shawn thing because I don't know why him and Paul started arguing, Shawn was out his face and Paul was just trying to get him to go home."

Vince observed his daughter for a few moments. "That's not what this is about Stephanie. I was just going to ask how you are."

Stephanie looked surprised for a few moments before smiling warmly at her father. "I'm fine daddy."

"And the workload I've given you isn't too much?" Vince questioned, wanting to get the work queries out the way first. "Because if you're having trouble coping I have no problem getting someone else to help you-"

"No." Stephanie cut in quickly, alarmed at the insinuation that her father didn't think she was capable enough to do her job. "The work's fine. I'm actually having a lot of fun with this, both on and off air..." She frowned in confusion. "What's this about dad? Am I doing a poor job? Am I not generating enough heat or something, is that what this is about?"

Vince sighed. "No, Stephanie, that's not what this is about. You've been doing a marvellous job back here and if you continue to improve there may be a creative spot opening up for you soon." Her face lit up. "What was wrong with you earlier?" Her expression faltered as she frowned in confusion. "The meeting. You came in and you'd been crying, what was wrong with you?"

Stephanie was surprised her father had even noticed, he hadn't seen her cry all that often. "It was nothing dad, I was just crying out of frustration because I dropped all my things and I was already late for the meeting. It's no big deal." She knew were this conversation was suddenly going and she didn't like it one bit, glancing to her watch, she got to her feet. "I need to go get ready for our segment later, but I'll speak to you soon daddy okay?" She kissed her father's cheek and was already out the door before Vince could even respond. He rolled his eyes and sat there for a moment, thinking over what he had just witnessed. Paul had been looking at his daughter as a lot more than just a friend. But Stephanie wouldn't betray orders like that.... would she?

Vince tried to think about what would happen if Triple H began dating Stephanie McMahon. The backlash could be catasrophic not only for his daughter and his top guy but for his entire company as a whole. No, they wouldn't do it. There was nothing going on between them. Stephanie wouldn't put herself in that position. And Paul wouldn't be stupid enough to jeoparadise everything he'd worked for for a quick fling with the bosses daughter. Putting it from his mind for now, he got back down to business at hand and hoped that his daughter was coping under the heavy work load she had... the last thing he needed was her burning out and having a breakdown. His wife was already at his throat enough with the amount she had been taking on.

Stephanie thought about heading to catering to maybe talk to Shane about everything that had just happened, but decided against it. She had to back and see for herself that Paul had calmed down and that his wrist wasn't hurt from punching Shawn so hard. She still could hardly believe that he had fought with his best friend over her. Why had he gotten so angry? Yeah sure what Shawn had said was bad, but she'd heard worse. Was his anger just that of a protective friend? Or maybe something more?

She entered the room, glancing around warily, worried that maybe Joanie had heard about the spat and come to comfort her boyfriend. Thankfully, Paul was alone in the room and sitting on the couch, staring at his hands intently. She just watched him for a few minutes, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach whenever she thought back to the way he'd defended her. How sweet could he be.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked softly, not making any move towards him. She watched as he lifted his head and smiled at her affectionately, not making any move towards her either.

"I'm fine." He said, running a hand through his hair idly. "I'm just worried about him. He has a wife and kid he needs to look after now, he's gotta stop all this immature crap."

Stephanie still didn't move, instead she just stood near the door. Did this mans kindness ever stop? "I'm sure he'll work things out, everyone just has to try to do all that they can to help him."

"Yeah," Paul stared glumly at his hands. "I guess hitting him isn't gonna do much good to help him is it?"

Stephanie didn't answer at first. She didn't know why she wasn't letting herself move away from the door. Maybe because she knew what had happened the last time they'd been in a room together. "You didn't have to do what you did, you know."

Paul stared up at her with a smile. "Of course I did. No-one talks to you that way Stephanie, especially not a friend of mine."

"Paul, while I really appreciate it, Shawn wasn't in his right mind." She dared take a few steps towards him but stopped when he got to his feet. "I don't want to come between you and your friends."

"You won't." He smiled. "We'll sort it out. I'll make sure he apologizes next time he sees you."

Stephanie glanced at his hand. "Are you okay?"

His gaze softened. "I'm fine, it barely hurts at all." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What did your dad want?"

She thought back to her fathers weird interrogation. "Just to see if I was coping alright with the workload. He noticed I'd been crying earlier." Paul just watched her as she talked. God, she was so damn beautiful. "I just told him I'd talk to him later, I need to think up a good excuse for why I had a breakdown just because I fell and hurt my chin." She laughed but cut it short, noticing that he'd zoned out on her. "Paul are you sure you're okay?"

He took a few steps towards her, his face creasing into a smirk. "I'm fine, Steph. Relax. Shawn and I will sort it out, don't worry about it."

"I just don't like the fact that you and your friend got in a fight over me." She bit her lip in that adorable way she had, and he felt a stirring in his lower abdomen. Why were they both fighting this? He wondered. Why did they care so much about what other people thought when really all that mattered was the two of them? "I don't want to cause you trouble."

"You could never cause me trouble." Paul said honestly, coming closer and closer. Steph wanted to back away, to stop herself from jumping him. But would that really be so bad? "Like I said last week, I really care about you Steph."

Inexplicably, tears began to form in her eyes. "I care about you too Paul, I just... I'm scared-"

"Scared of what?" He asked softly.

She sniffed and held his gaze. "I don't want my heart broken because you chose your career."

He couldn't find an answer to that, so instead he did the first thing that came into his head, which happened to be grabbing her roughly in his arms and pushing her against the door before crushing his lips against hers. She moaned at the contact and instantly kissed him back, running her hands up his face till they were playing in his hair. She knew this was wrong, she knew her father, not to mention Joanie, would go crazy if they found out they were doing this. But six months was a long time to go falling for someone and not be able to act on her feelings. She deserved this. They both deserved this. Who would even know? He just kissed her so good, she was lost in the moment as he peeled her zipper from her body, attacking her neck hungrily as she tried to get control over her body. He teased her bra straps, kissing her collarbone gently which caused her to shudder. She retaliated by pulling the band from his hair, letting it fan about his face so she could run her hands through it. She teased him by placing her hands under his shirt, flicking at the top of his jogging bottoms.

Paul felt were her hands were going and he pressed his body against hers, he couldn't get enough of her as their tongues duelled with each other. He hoisted her up so that she wrapped her legs around him, and he moved his mouth down to her chest, to the curve in between her breasts. She was panicking slightly inside, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Paul didn't know what had come over him, all he knew was that he had a desperate need to feel himself inside of her. He unbuttoned a few buttons on her shirt so that he could see her cleavage and he tore his lips away from hers a moment to kiss the sensitive area in between her chest.

"Paul." His name left her lips in a hushed whisper, and it only spurned him on further as he began nipping and sucking on the pale flesh he had exposed. His hands went up and down her hips, not slowing down as they gripped her ass and then returned to her front. He undid the rest of her buttons, till she no longer had a shirt on. He stared at her a moment, admiring her beauty, before she too removed his shirt and began placing gentle kisses on his chest. She pushed him into walking backwards till his knees hit the sofa with a thump and she shoved him down so that he landed on the couch. She straddled him quickly, her hips grinding into his as she attacked him hungrily with her lips.

Paul knew things were going way out of their control, but he didn't want it to stop. She felt so good, tasted so great. Her hips grinding into his crotch area drove him crazy. She pressed extra hard for a moment and he couldn't prevent the groan that escaped from his lips.

"Stephanie," He whispered, kissing all the way down her chest to her stomach, admiring the view as he went, he felt her hands in his hair, pulling at his scalp painfully. He flipped her over so that she was on her back, and he was hovering over her. He kissed her again, their tongues battling for dominance, before he pulled away to catch his breath. In that moment, he got a good look at her. God did she look sexy. Her chest was heaving with her heavy breathing, and her blue orbs were dark with lust. Her hair was a mess due to his heavy petting, and he could see the red marks on her translucent skin from where his mouth had been. The feelings she brought out in him scared him slightly. He didn't know why he was feeling something so strong for someone who wasn't his girlfriend.

His thoughts turned to Joanie and he suddenly felt terrible. He was cheating on his girlfriend. And no matter what problems Joanie and him were going through, he still cared about her. Loved her. Even if it was just a tiny bit.

Stephanie could see the range of emotions pass across his face. Going from lust, to affection to guilt in a matter of seconds. Despite feeling antsy and wanting him oh so badly, she knew the mood had effectively been killed. And now that she had a moment to think, she realised what a bad thing she was doing. If her father ever found out about this, they would both be dead. She tried to sit up, but he was still leaning over her. His arms on either side of her face to hold his weight from her.

"Paul," She whispered, unable to get the huskiness from her voice. Her body was still tingling from where his lips had been. Oh how much she wanted him. "We can't do this."

Paul took another look at her. Another good, long look at her. How could she be so beautiful? How could such a specimen exist and not have men beating down the door to get to her? What had he been about to do? He'd been about to have sex with her in a dingy locker room with all their colleagues rushing about outside. She deserved better than that. That was not the way he envisoned first making love to Stephanie McMahon. He wanted everything to be perfect. He wanted them to be together in all other ways possible before they finally gave into temptation and went the full way. He didn't want to confuse her by having sex with her straight away. He felt angry at himself for almost letting his dick taker over his brain. She deserved so much more than just a quick lay in a locker room before a show. So much, much more than that.

"I'm sorry." Paul said, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "I didn't want it to happen like this." He gestured between the two of them and caught sight of Stephanie's shirt thrown haphazardly across the floor. He quickly went to retrieve it and handed it to her, averting his eyes while she re-dressed herself. When he felt her hand on his arm, he turned back to look at her, and she was gazing at him sadly. Her blue eyes alone drove him crazy, and he couldn't help himself, he kissed her again, albeit tenderly. "I want us to be able to spend time together on our terms, I don't want us to just have a quicky before RAW." She chuckled and he smiled, running a hand gently down her cheek. "I want us to be an us, Steph. I'm sick of playing around with how I feel."

Stephanie's eyes widened. "You really mean that?"

Paul smiled, popping another quick kiss on her lips. He'd never get tired of doing that. "I do. I just... we can't right now.. I mean, I need to speak with Joanie and well, you..." He trailed off and she frowned, forgetting momentarily what he could be talking about. "You need to talk to John."

John, she inwardly groaned. How to explain John? Would he be mad? "About John..."

"No, it's fine. If you wanna stay with him then fine, I know me and you can never be together openly." Stephanie nodded, as that was most definitely true. "But, I mean, I can't deny my feelings any longer Steph. I really, really like you."

"I really like you too." Steph sighed and turned away, no longer able to gaze at the hurt look in his eyes that had appeared the moment John's name had been mentioned. She thought about John's reaction if he knew what had almost happened. He'd probably whistle and tease her till she went nuts. John had been trying to convince her to just go for it, to not let anyone or anything stand in her way. Wasn't this exactly what he was meaning? Shouldn't she be thinking about herself for a change? And not the Goddamn company? Paul made her feel happy, made her feel special. It was far too early to tell, but Paul was different in a way that she couldn't 100% describe at this moment in time. Would she be willing to pass him by just because of some stupid rule her father made up the moment she decided she wanted to be in the company and not a doctor like her father had wanted?

"Let's do it." She had blurted it out before properly thinking about what she was saying. Paul just stared at her, a mixture of shock and confusion written across his handsome face.

"Do what?" He asked blankly, his mind still on John and what he might do if he found out he'd just almost had sex with his girlfriend. He wasn't afraid of the guy, but he didn't want Stephanie upset if the two came to blows.

"Us. You and me, together." Paul's eyebrows shot up as Stephanie gained more confidence the more she thought about what she was proposing. "I don't care what anyone thinks, and I don't care what my father thinks. They don't have to know anything. I just... I want you Paul, I can't stop thinking about you and I want to be with you and only you. No-one else in the picture."

Paul's expression grew serious as he took Stephanie's hand. "Are you sure about this? I know you and John have a history-" Stephanie pressed a finger to his mouth to silence him.

"John is irrelevant, trust me." She whispered, taking her hand away from his mouth, he continued.

"If people do start to find out about this, it'll be a long hard road ahead of us." Paul said softly, gazing deep into her blue eyes. She gazed back at his brown eyes and found herself gravitating towards him, kissing him again until she felt him pulling back. "I still need to speak to Joanie. But I'll come by your hotel room later on tonight."

"Okay," She pressed a small kiss on his cheek and got to her feet. "I mean what I say Paul, I'm willing to do whatever it takes if it means we can be together.... I just... think it's better for everyone if we keep it quiet."

Paul nodded, knowing fine well the last thing they either wanted or needed was the boys in the back finding out he was seeing the boss's daughter. Not that he cared what anyone thought, he just didn't want Stephanie subjected to such gossip. "I agree, Steph. I'll see you later."

Stephanie managed to maintain her composure until she got to her office. But the moment she shut the door and locked it behind her, she began to lose it. Running a hand through her hair she began to pace back and forth. What had she gotten herself into? She was following her heart instead of her head and it could get both her and Paul into serious trouble. But was it really worth it?

The phone was in her hand and dialing before she had even realised what she was doing.

"John? It's me... I think Paul and I have started an affair."


	6. Chapter 6

_Ahem... don't kill me? I know it's been puuuuure long. Sorry. It's just... I know how I want it to end, I actually have a really good idea for the last three to four chapters.... I'm just finding it difficult bridging the space in between then and now. So please bare with me, hope you guys like this. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed so far, please review this chapter too :)._

Stephanie sat on the edge of her hotel bed, still slightly thrown by the days events.

"Steph, you are reading way too much into this." John said, nudging her gently as he sat down beside her. He'd been waiting patiently for the show to be over and Steph to return so he could hear about the advances in this whole saga. He had been surprised when he'd heard Stephanie say her and Paul had both admitted their feelings for each other. What he'd been even more surprised about was the fact that Paul was so willing to date the bosses daughter even if it messed with his career opportunities. That thought slightly threw him. He had been having some questioning thoughts about Paul's integrity over the past couple of months after being on the road and seeing Paul and Stephanie interact up close. Paul seemed like a nice guy, that wasn't the problem. John just didn't know whether or not to trust him. Did he care for Stephanie like he said he did? Or was he just using her for his own benefit?

"John?" Stephanie noticed he'd zoned out on her, and she bit her lip in frustration. She was the one having a dilemna right now, not him. "Little advice here please?"

"It sounds like you guys are good to go." John shrugged, halting his questioning thoughts for the moment. "Just don't let daddy find out, I doubt he'll be pleased."

Steph winced. "That's my biggest worry. I don't want to betray him with this but... I just can't... I can't get him off my mind John. Today when he was kissing me I just... I felt myself losing all control. No-one's ever made me feel like that Johnny.. no-one."

John gritted his teeth, willing himself not to get jealous or resentful. He had to have known being in such close proximity to Stephanie so often would bring out some old feelings in him. It wasn't that he loved Stephanie. That bridge had burned and they had both moved on. But she was a smart, funny, sexy, gorgeous girl, who wouldn't feel attracted to her? Especially when she was pretending to be your girlfriend and kissing you whenever the guy she was crushing on happened to be in sight. He had to try keep his head clear during all this, otherwise he'd stop being objective and start trying to keep Stephanie all to himself. And that was the opposite of what she wanted.

"I better go." John knew that he wouldn't be able to help her much tonight, not when his own mind was such a jumbled, confused mess. He hadn't thought much about his own feelings for Stephanie because he'd believed they were well and truly gone. Now that he'd questioned his feelings, all that answered him was confusion. He figured the best course of action would be to leave Stephanie on her own for a few days and then see if she still needed him in this plan when the weekend was over with. "I gotta go back to West Newberry for a few things, see my dad and stuff... will you be alright?"

Stephanie smiled, knowing that he'd given up a lot to accompany her on the road the past couple of months. "You don't need to worry about me John. I really appreciate everything you've done for me these past couple of months... really... you don't know how grateful I am."

John smiled and cupped her cheek before kissing her gently on the mouth. "I do. I'll see you soon kiddo." He walked to the door and glanced back, not surprised to see she already had her head in her hands, lost in thought about the coming night.

Stephanie heard the door gently click shut and she let out a small sigh of despair. She knew John must be missing his family, neglecting his other commitments and she felt guilty that she'd taken up so much of his time recently. But it still didn't make her any less upset knowing that she wouldn't have him to vent to over the next few days. She had to try get this whole situation sorted and sorted quickly. Her father was already acting suspicious, as was her mother. Shane most likely knew all about the entire thing because Steph knew fine well Marissa couldn't hold water when it came to telling her husband stuff. She just wished it wasn't so complicated. Why did she of all people have to be banned from seeing the one guy she wanted to see most?

She tried to weight the pros and cons of her and Paul having a serious relationship. The main one was that they got on really well together. They had so much in common and there was never a dull moment when they were together. They both lived and breathed for the business, it was their passion, their calling, and obviously the reason they even met in the first place. Paul was funny, charming, smart, sweet, sexy... he was everything a girl could ask for and more. He was constantly making her smile, he was always looking out for her, asking for her, making sure she was happy. Even though she'd spent the past few months with him constantly, she never grew tired of him. He was always finding new ways to entertain her, or surprise her. He was such a good guy, there was no way her father could ever make the argument that he wasn't good enough for her. He was just such a passionate, dedicated individual. They'd both grown up loving the same business, it wasn't like they'd ever have nothing to take about when wrestling played such a big part in both their lives.

She then thought about the cons. How his colleagues would probably shun him, whisper about him behind his back. How people would claim that any success he had was due to their relationship, claims that he had never earned anything he'd recieved. All his previous accomplishments would mean nothing in light of the fact Triple H was now seeing the bosses daughter. His reputation could be ruined... His entire career could be ruined if - God forbid - they didn't work out and Vince saw fit to punish him for breaking his daughters heart. But somehow, Stephanie didn't think it would come to that. She didn't believe in fate and happy endings and all that crap... nor did she like to predict the future. But she could see herself with Paul forever. She could see him as her boyfriend, her fiance, maybe even her husband, life partner, father to her kids. She hated being so assuming, but it was true. There was something different about him and she didn't really know what it was. But she didn't want to let him go.

Not for anything.

It was quite late, and she knew that sooner or later, Paul would show up like he'd promised. She fleetingly wondered if maybe he was with Joanie, but she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Joanie was pleasant enough, but Steph could never say that they'd ever been friends. Joanie had always looked upon Stephanie as nothing more than a spoiled brat, only in her job because of her last name. Stephanie didn't mind. She was used to people thinking that about her. She'd learned to just ignore it. Just like she'd learned to ignore Joanie. Even though her and Paul had become great friends due to their new storyline, Stephanie and Joanie had barely spoken to each other, never mind hung out. She wasn't heartless enough to say she didn't feel guilty at all for doing this to her... but the burden was a lot less harder to bear when she didn't really like Joanie in the first place. But before Paul got here, she knew she had something to do.

Reaching for the phone, she dialed a number and waited for the person on the other end to pick up. She'd thought long and hard about this, and knew, deep down, that she'd never be able to betray her father like this. Not without at least discussing the concept with him first.

"Vince McMahon speaking." Stephanie smiled despite herself. The one thing about her character that was true was that she was definitely a daddy's girl. While she wasn't spoiled, she certainly adored her daddy.

"Hey dad, it's me." She tried to sound nonchalant, but knew she sounded too eager. Too excited and nervous all at the one time. Who could blame her? The guy she'd been pining after for months was probably on his way up to her hotel room to secretly make out with her while his girlfriend waited a few floors down in their own hotel room. Who wouldn't be excited and nervous about that? "Are you busy?"

"Not too busy to talk to you Steph, you know that." Vince said warmly. "What did you need this late at night?"

"Just to talk." Stephanie said with an over dramatic sigh.  
"About anything in particular?"

"In your office earlier today." Stephanie said with a frown. "Why were you asking such strange questions if you didn't think I was buckling under my workload?"

Vince sighed. "Stephanie..."

"No, dad, really, it's been bugging me. Has someone said something to you? Has someone implied something about me? Paul said you mentioned me to him earlier... what's going on daddy?"

"Stephanie, I just wanted to know Paul's intentions towards you."

Stephanie froze. She hadn't been expecting that. Not at all. "What do you mean daddy?"

"Well, there has been rumblings." Vince said, feeling rather smug. He could tell he'd knocked his daughter for a loop. "About you two having more than just a professional relationship... but of course I know neither of you would go against my wishes would you Steph?"

Stephanie gulped, feeling incredibly dirty as a small knock came to her hotel door. "No, of course not."

Vince carried on like he hadn't heard her. "Plus, I do have eyes Stephanie. I can see the way you look at each other. Shame, really, that you're my daughter. I'm sure you two would have made a good couple. But you do know that can't happen right princess?" Vince said sternly. "It would only open you both up to a mountain of hurt and ridicule. We have to do what's best for business in this situation."

Stephanie sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to change her fathers mind. The knocking became more persistant as she decided to wrap up her discussion with her father. "I understand daddy. Business always comes first, I'm sure Paul knows that as well as I do."

"Well I was just making sure." Vince said, feeling slightly guilty now that his suspicions had been confirmed and there was more than platonic feelings between his daughter and his employee. "Try not to think too hard on it Stephanie. I'm sure John will help take your mind off things."

Stephanie made a face, glad her father couldn't see. "Yes daddy, I better get to sleep now." She faked a loud yawn. "I'm so tired."  
"I'll call you tomorrow Stephanie."

"Goodnight dad."

"Goodnight Stephanie, sweet dreams."

Stephanie hung up the phone and threw it onto the bed before sprinting through the hallway to the door. She threw it open and it made a loud noise as it crashed against the wall. She groaned in despair as she realised Paul had given up his knocking and left. Glancing both left and right down the hallway, she saw him walking away. Shoulders slumped dejectedly as he stuffed his hands in his pocket. The image was so endearing but she knew if he got any farther away she'd either have to yell or run after him to get his attention, and neither appealed right about now.

"Paul." She hissed. He turned immediately at her voice and his face broke into a wide, and slightly relieved grin. "Leaving so soon?"

Paul followed her into the room and turned to lock the door behind him. "I thought maybe you'd fallen asleep or something, I didn't want to disturb you."

She smiled, trying to forget the conversation she'd just had with her father and the guilt it caused her knowing she was deliberately defying him despite him wanting what was best for her. "I was on the phone, I had to end the call as quickly as possible without making it seem suspicious."

"Vince?" Paul asked, and seeing Stephanie nod and the way her face fell slightly caused him to frown. "You okay?"

Stephanie sighed, contemplating whether or not she should tell him about the conversation she'd just had with her father - their boss. But then, gazing at him in his track pants and tank top, her mind went into overdrive knowing the body that was underneath those clothes. He was gazing at her so intensely that she felt almost fragile under his gaze, his brown eyes staring holes in her as he ravished her tank top and booty shorts clad body. She cared about what her father thought, she really did. But right now, her body and heart were both screaming for the same thing.

And he was standing right in front of her.

"I'm fine." Stephanie nodded, grabbing his hand and drawing him closer to her. She pressed a small kiss to his lips, breaking away quickly, leaving him longing for more. He took the initiative and pulled her body flush against his, tracing the outline of her jaw with his fingers. He kissed her again, making it deeper, his tongue perusing her mouth, claiming it as his own. "Are you sure?"

She smiled against his mouth, glad for once that she was doing something for her, and not something for her father or the business. "Now that you're here.... yeah... I think I'll be fine...."

_Please don't kill me :P Next chapter VERY soon. I promise (yn) x_


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